Alberta Health Services is requiring certain employees to take two unpaid days off by the end of March due to ongoing financial pressures, as per a memo obtained by CBC News. The memo, issued by Erin O’Neill, AHS’s senior vice-president of finance and shared services, specified that non-unionized exempt employees (referred to as NUEEs) would be affected, with some exceptions based on salary groups.
The memo explained that the decision was made after exploring various options and emphasized the necessity to fulfill financial obligations amidst budget constraints. A spokesperson from AHS confirmed that this measure, affecting some non-unionized staff, was a one-time occurrence but did not disclose the exact number of employees required to take 15.5 hours of unpaid leave.
According to AHS, this initiative is part of ongoing efforts to find efficiencies and cost savings without compromising patient care. It was clarified that frontline staff would not be impacted, and health-care services would remain unaffected. Specific positions were exempt to shield those earning below a certain threshold from the measure.
While AHS did not provide details on the specific roles included or the anticipated savings from this action, Dr. Braden Manns, a professor of medicine and health economics at the University of Calgary, expressed understanding of the decision based on his experience with budget constraints at AHS. He noted that the mandated time off could potentially save AHS between $8 million and $15 million.
Dr. Manns highlighted that despite the relatively modest savings, affected employees might find it frustrating, especially considering significant government expenditures on other initiatives. This move coincides with the ongoing restructuring of the Alberta health system, with Acute Care Alberta confirming that staff who have transitioned to the new provincial health agencies are not affected.
AHS assured that impacted employees would have a say in scheduling their unpaid leave days. The restructuring of AHS is seen as a step towards highlighting the value provided by managers within the system, according to Dr. Manns.
